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Part 1, Chapter 3
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Scientific Discovery and Technological Innovation
Freedom vs. Constraint
Human Intelligence and its Limits
Exploration, Imperialism, and Conquest
Nature vs. Civilization
Summary
Analysis
Captain Farragut has an absolute, irrational faith in the existence of the monster. He is convinced that only he or the creature will survive his encounter with it. The other officers share his attitude, and keep their eyes fixed on the ocean. Farragut has offered a reward of $2,000 to the first man to catch sight of the monster. Arronax is similarly enthusiastic in his search for the creature. Every possible kind of weapon is on board the ship, including an enormous canon that represents the peak of American military innovation.
For both Farragut and Arronax, finding the monster is more than just a job. Indeed, all the characters depicted in the novel have internalized their vocation as their most important purpose in life and the very core of their being.
Themes
Also on board is Ned Land, a 40-year-old, six-foot-tall Canadian man known as “the prince of harpooners.” He is cold and curt, with a “sinister” air about him. Yet Ned develops some affection for Arronax due to the fact that Arronax is French and Ned is from Quebec. He tells Arronax all about his adventures at sea. Ned does not believe that the monster exists. When Arronax asks him why, Ned explains that, as a professional whaler, he is not prone to the same fantasies as the general public regarding the existence of supernatural creatures of the sea. He has seen many whales in his time, but none could damage the steel bottom of a ship like the Scotia.
Ned’s comment about the difference between his perspective and that of the general public is crucial. It confirms the sense that to the public, the monster is not a real thing but a figment upon which their fantasies and fears are projected. As someone who spends most of his time among real “monsters” of the ocean, Ned has little need or patience for imaginative speculation.
Themes
Arronax explains that, due to the enormous pressure present in the deep sea, creatures who live there must possess extraordinary power. He points out that if Ned were to find himself in the deep sea, he would be flattened in seconds. Ned is shocked, and admits that he is “almost” persuaded by Arronax’s reasoning.
Ned and Arronax are very different, but both are clearly open to learning from the other and exchanging knowledge with each other. This symbiotic relationship emphasizes the importance of dialogue and knowing one’s intellectual limits.
Themes
